Tips for Managing a Virtual Workforce

As the economy and our marketplace become more global, having a distributed workforce is a normal part of business. Not only are offices spread around the world, but a growing number of people work either full- or part-time from their homes. If you are managing remote employees, a whole new set of challenges develop in these situations; you may rarely see, never have met or not even speak the same language as the people who you are supposed to coach and hold accountable for getting a job done.

Right now, approximately 34 million workers in the United States work from home or a remote location at least one day a week. That number is expected to almost double to 63 million by 2016, which represents a staggering 43% of the U.S. workforce. On a larger scale, according to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2009–2013 Forecast, more than one third of the global workforce will be mobile by 2013.

There are many reasons to have a remote workforce, such as saving office/real estate costs, meeting customer requirements, offering a better work/life balance and having access to a larger talent pool. No matter what’s behind your decision, if you’re managing employees who aren’t in your office, you have to engage in a different management style if you want to make everyone successful.

Schedule regular meetings with all team members to get updates on projects and hold workers accountable for their deadlines

Don’t micromanage; if your expectations are being met, then trust your employees to do their jobs

Take time to understand the culture where your remote employees are located, particularly if they are located in another country

Make sure to spread the workload among all employees so that those in the office don’t feel like they are unfairly taking on a larger burden of the responsibilities compared to those working remotely

Create spaces in your office so remote workers can periodically come to ‘plug in’ or provide them with a location where they can collaborate with other remote co-workers/professionals

Remember, it takes self-disciplined and motivated people to work outside of an office, and those people usually work harder and longer hours. To avoid burn out and feelings of isolation, find ways to make them feel included. Using web conferencing with web cams or video conferencing solutions gives your team that face-to-face feeling they’d have sitting around a conference table together. And if you can get it in your budget, bringing everyone together in the office or another off-site location can go a long way to fostering team spirit.

What have you done in your company or work environment to put these practices to use? Do you have other tips to share?

0 comments on “Tips for Managing a Virtual Workforce”

Thanks for sharing these tips with us. Managing a virtual workforce is a great way to cut costs and go green. But in order to manage a virtual workforce successfully, you need to have the right online tools and resources to help you grow your business and run your business more smoothly and efficiently.

Backlogging of calls can affect the reputation of your business therefore it avoid this it is necessary to have a competent receptionist. Using Virtual Receptionist services is the best solution to all your requirements.

Wonderful tips!! It is important to manage the virtual workspace as your work is going to effect other’s business too. You need to do work according to the client and satisfaction should be given to them.